RECENT WORKS

I’ve seen the nutcracker probably a hundred times: A hundred arabians, of every conceivable choreography, costume and set - and because of the constraints of ballet, all can be compared, despite the solitary and transient nature of dance, as some degree of departure from the perfect; the ideal. Whether I can speak the language or not, however, I must (apparently) leave some critical mark behind me, like so much broken china.

Improvisational interpretive dance requires a lot more work on the part of the audience, so it was appropriate that I began in the labyrinth, with nothing more than questions - what do I take, where do I leave it, what is the point, what is the question, why do I follow, how do I get out…. From there to the dodecahedron, where it seemed more a statement from within than one communicated per se - the real world is not the perfection of theory, however much we might wish it to be so, to be safe and predictable. Too soon we are drawn away, and all I want to do is go inside that clean white room. Medel offers me a pine cone and the interactive nature of the play came to life - to me it is a display, to the next a gift of the spirit, to a third a relationship - and the theme of transience forming beauty had me brushing aside the potential of regret - seeking a more encompassing level of understanding. I am a tree, which knows not what moves me. Stone’s intro at the tower was the first where I began to see the energy being wielded, as it moved beneath her, so it was only by making it my own that I could, as advised, receive, a la grrl power spelled M-A-N. I didn’t want to leave Graham either, what was unspoken still needing expression, so it was good to return to the tetractys after the embodiment of Freyja Mardoll by King, even if it was only the edges I saw of the light upon the waters. I had to linger there long enough to take her breath in my hands, and indeed, it was the only part of me that was warm. Should have brought a hoodie.

Inside, the themes and variations continued to intersect and multiply. Hargett is there, alone, weightlessly floating in the void of space that I can readily see all around us. Suddenly I’m every group of mankind that ever gathered around a fire to have storytellers take us somewhere human. Partnerships of love, learning and simple causality play out in the kaleidoscope of a wordless mind made visible. I can’t keep up, but trust that someone will see every angle, and simply enjoy my own.

I didn’t know what to expect from a bunch of Boulder hippies, but it was, in a single word, impressive. The endurance, scope, complexity, captivation - all impressive.

... Suddenly I’m every group of mankind that ever gathered around a fire to have storytellers take us somewhere human. Partnerships of love, learning and simple causality play out in the kaleidoscope of a wordless mind made visible. I can’t keep up, but trust that someone will see every angle, and simply enjoy my own...

— Saxon MacLeod on Labyrinth, May 11th 2018

... both experiential and educational; each viewer was free to take away from the performance what they personally needed or desired...